US citizen extradited to Singapore charged with alleged role in S$18 million forex scheme
AN American man, who was extradited to Singapore last month, is facing charges here for his alleged involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme worth millions of dollars, the police said in a statement on Monday (Apr 3).
Michael Philip Atkins, 50, was charged in court on Monday with one count of knowingly being a party to the carrying on of a business for a fraudulent purpose under Section 340(5) of the Companies Act.
Atkins was a director and shareholder of Aureus Capital, which had offered an investment scheme to trade in leveraged foreign exchange on behalf of scheme participants.
Between May 2013 and July 2014, the scheme collected about S$18 million from more than a thousand investors.
However, it is alleged that Aureus Capital did not in fact operate substantive trading activities.
Further, the company had no sustainable means of funding its operations or the promised payouts to its investors, authorities said.
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Atkins had been arrested and released on police bail in July 2014 in the course of investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) into Aureus Capital. However, he subsequently failed to report to CAD for investigations as required.
A warrant of arrest and an Interpol red notice were issued against him.
Atkins’ whereabouts were traced with assistance from authorities in the US, and he was successfully extradited to Singapore on Mar 18.
If convicted, Atkins faces a fine of up to S$15,000, imprisonment for a term of up to seven years, or both.
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